Start of Something New
by Kitsunefan203
Summary: Life is suppose to have happy endings, aren't they? At least, that's what Leon thought. But Cloud isn't the Knight in shining armor he was hoping for. Warning Darksided!Cloud ahead. Originally "Bumps in the Night"
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: You know the drill, all Final Fantasy characters, belong to Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix; any Disney characters that are used in the future chapters, if at all, belong to Disney.

Warning: Darkside!Cloud ahead, Leon stalked by Darksided!Cloud, Cid's swearing as usual mixed in with a fight for the honor of his loved one that is not at his side due to reasons beyond his control, fighting Cid against smart mouthy Cloud, sick Leon.

AN: Originally was "Bumps In The Night" but after some self reflection on what crap it originally was and taking the hints from the reviews of Kelliegirl and Talinsquall about changing thigns here and there, I have changed how this reads from the original way it was. As it was, if you couldn't tell...it was reading as if a newbie Fanfic writer had written this in an attempts to write a CloudLeon for the first time. I guess my mind just got a way from me and I didn't think to reread over what I had written before I slap happily threw this on the site. ^^; It just made me go, "...Why did I do that? I'm not a noob at this. Then why is writing like that?"So, yeah. Without further ado, here is the NEW verison of what use to be Bumps in the Night.

Thanks again to Kelliegirl and Talinsquall for your helpful reviews.

Leon liked to curl up with a good book in the Library adjacent to the Restoration Committee Housing Building; there were countless books. As to whom they belonged to or had belonged to, it was an utter mystery that no one had taken the time to pin down, but what had it mattered. For hours on end, Leon would curl up a corner, nose buried deep into the pages of a book unaware that the Security system had been going off. It was hard to not miss the sounds blaring or the flashing lights. But there were times he would find himself waking up, the feel of the wallpapered walls not at his back, but the soft comfort of a warm bed mattress and bed sheets. Those times were when Yuffie or even Aerith, would be asleep in a chair beside his bed. No one was utterly sure as to why he hid off alone like he did. For solitude? Personal gain to his own self indulged ego? Or maybe, maybe he was a man looking to just get a moments peace away from the everyday grind and noises that surrounded him?

This had to be it.

It had been the answer that was on everyone's minds every time they watched Leon walk off to the Library to find himself lost in him self again or at least in a fictional tale.

But was that all it was?

For as long as Leon could remember, even as far back as the times he had spent living at lone at home even before his days of SEED Academy; he would lose himself in the mountains of books that had accumulated in his Father's library. Some of the books were too hard for him to comprehend. The words that he came across that were hard to decipher required the young Leon to find a dictionary to find the meaning of the word. When he had started school, he had a wider vocabulary then most of the kids in his classes which helped to baffle the classroom bullies. There were more simplistic ones he was able to comprehend; tales of heroes that would sweep in and rescue the fairy princess. When he had started into SEED; he put away all those fairy tales. Shining Armored Knights brandishing huge swords of justice didn't exist and the only in need of rescuing Princess was…

"Leon…?"the man's eyes jerked skywards as he nearly knocked his head up under the figure head standing above him; his head coming close to cracking Cid in the jaw, "Whoa there…nearly knocked me for a loop there, that you did."

Cid Highwind, former Airship Captain for the former Mercenary Group known as AVALANCHE that had rushed in, kicked butt, and taken several names of several bad asses that were willing to stop their attempts to save the Planet. When Leon first met the salty, foul mouthed Airship Captain; his mind began to replay back to the first sea faring tale he had read. The tale had been about a salty old Captain that didn't take anyone's whining and grumblings. Anyone that did such things was met with a stern glare from the Captain; which was what could've been said for anyone that dared to cross Cid. Yuffie, another character he had learned all too quickly who she reminded him off; she had reminded him of a young man with the same energy as her. But that energy tended to get to the young woman into trouble and taught her to not cross the Captain. The first time she stole his weapon had been she had planned to test it out to leap over the in progress restoration buildings in a single bound. That all ended in a thrall of swears and curse words that not even the biggest block of soap was going to wash them out of the old Captain's mouth. She had also reminded him of a girl he had read about that had dreamt of running away to the Circus, when she had circus of her own in her life; her Father, not much like the scruffy sea salt Captain, had been a man that enjoyed life as it came with his daughter.

Leon placed the book down as he sheepishly grinned at the old man, "Sorry about that, Cid…I guess I forgot my bearings, again."

"You sure are doing that a lot, Leon…something on your mind?" Cid sat down beside the man as he gazed over at the book in Leon's hands, "1,000 Leagues Under the Sea…Classic."

"Yeah…and No, I don't have anything on my mind, just…Heh…alright, it's just lately…I've had this feeling that there is something amidst in my life; it's as if…"Leon couldn't describe it as he stood up and placed the book down on a table in the Library, "…It's as if I've got this burning sensation burning at the back of my head that doesn't go away, no matter which way you turn."

Cid shook his head as he sat scratching at it, "Care to run that by me in English there, Leon?"

How else he could he simply put it?

There was a sensation of sorts that had for the past weeks that had slowly been ebbing and boring into the back of his head with a fiery passion, but to explain who or what it was? He couldn't begin to pinpoint what exactly it could be. All he knew was that he was being followed and it was leaving a dark feeling in the way it stared at the back of his head. It had caused the man to lose sleep in the past nights, dreaming about something or someone tracking him down through the quiet streets of the Marketplace, then just as the dream would seem to reveal itself. He would wake up. Awake in a cold sweat and a shiver down his spine; it was a feeling he didn't want and not asked for. Just the simplest thought or even reminiscing on it made his stomach churn and become.

"Leon?" Cid called out to the frozen man as Leon's hand ran to his mouth as he muffled out an answer to the man before darting from the room, "LEON!"

Leon was turning green at the gills and his face was giving him away; he was a sick man that was about to lose the churning sick feeling in his stomach within a matter of moments. As his eyes seemed to spin in his head; he couldn't bring himself to mentally will the sickening feeling his stomach to stay down as he bent over a barrel and began to retch. It burned as it he had imagined it and just as it had started churning in his stomach at the mere memory of the mysterious Stalker that had been watching him for as long as he could remember. The sensation he had an idea who the person that had been following him so intently to bring on this fear had remained with him since the first time he had met the man. It had been when he had been found by the rag tag team he had come to consider his own rag tag family. When they had found him, he had been found in the arms of the one who would later take to watching his every steps and presenting this sense of fear in him about the man.

The members had found Leon in the arms of the quiet blond of the Group; quietly, he had been able to pick up on the man at that time's mutterings. Mutterings of his scent. What was wrong with the way he smelled? But there was nothing wrong, at least with the quiet blond; he had muttered that man's scent reminded him of the flowers that had grown in Aerith's church. Then the man had muttered that Leon also smelled of Light. Could light have a scent? It seemed it could. No one had at that time been allowed to get close to Leon, the one that had found him had taken it upon his responsibility to carry Leon back to the Committee House that time. But, instead of their being the quiet sounds of the glow about the Crystal Ravine around him or the sounds of feet moving towards him; there was only the sounds of the Marketplace. Luckily, the sounds of the Marketplace were able to drown out the defeat of his pride as the proud leader of the Restoration Committee was retching in a quiet corner of the town. Once the feeling that all he could dry heave into the barrel had left him, Leon felt he could just lie on the cool stones of the stone alleyway.

Slept felt like a good thing right now, even though the location was probably not the best place in the world, "…Damn nerves…damn memories…damn…whatever it is that has been tailing me…" the words became muttered as his eyes fluttered closed against his cheeks as he succumbed to the cool feel of the stone pathway, "…Why can't life be like a fairy tale?"

Yes.

Why couldn't life be just as simple as turning the pages of a colorful Fairy Tale child's book where upon the next page, all that you had wished for the heroine and hero was for them to be together? Live happily ever after and disappear into the sunset while the townspeople, woodland creatures, country bumpkins, whatever crowds that were around watched them and bid them farewell.

Why?

Just simply, why?

Leon had felt his life had been a fairy tale back in Balamb Gardens; he had been a Commander of a fleet of men that were willing to give their lives for the War ensuing. Waiting for him was a young woman who could've passed for a boy with the way she behaved more like a tomboy then a young woman, but tended to dress like a young lady when need be. Her smile alone in those days was like a fairy tale unfolding; she was his Princess and he was her Prince. When she had been taken away from him and held away; he charged in at the ready to steal her away once again, but…What had become of that fairy tale ending?

She was gone.

Everything and everyone…

Gone…

Within a singular moment of pitch black darkness, similar to the darkness chasing him now, but this darkness; he didn't know how to combat it. How can you combat something that you can't see? Leon felt at a loss for what was happening to him now; it had felt as if that Darkness had enveloped over him again, but this time, there were soft voices as the Darkness was moved away from his eyes. When had the Darkness come in the form of a washcloth?

"…He's slowly coming around, but he's going to need some time…he's got a fever, but that should break in time," Aerith, sweet, sweet Aerith; she always knew how to care for the downtrodden and weary, there was always a number of characters that came to mind when he thought about her, "It's a good thing you found him, Yuffie or else he would've become part of tomorrow's garbage."

Yuffie grinned from ear to ear as she rocked side to side on the balls of her feet as she watched Leon shifting about in his sleep, "Besides, what garbage man in their right mind would mistake a treasure like, Leon, for garbage?"

Leon gave a grimacing groan in his sleep; "Alright, Yuffie, that's enough…Leon is just a piece of coal that needs a little polishing to make him shine his brightest and…" she removed the mildly dry washcloth and wrung it out with fresh herbal water again as she replaced it against his forehead, "…He needs his rest. No fever goes away over night with rest, sleep, and quiet."

Yuffie saluted the self titled Healer of their motley crew as she headed down the stairs to tell the others that Leon's room was off limits until Leon was back in ass kicking shape. Aerith could only softly chuckle as her eyes watched over Leon, she kept watched until she was sure he asleep, but Leon's groans stopped her in her tracks.

"…Can you tell Cid…that I'll replace those Gummi parts I lost my stomach all over this afternoon?" Leon groaned weakly as he tiredly ran a hand against his face, "I know he's not going to be happy to see them covered in what was this morning's breakfast."

Aerith chuckled to herself, "Don't worry about it, Leon…He's got another shipment coming in a couple of days and he wasn't going to use those parts for awhile…"

"Seriously, tell him…"Leon moaned out as he felt his stomach about to roll out again, but it subsided as he closed his eyes and his body succumbed to the zap of strength the fever was playing on him.

"…I will" Aerith quietly walked out and closed the door, but she didn't make it down more then two steps before she heard a hand grab for the door handle, "Leave him alone, Cloud. He's not right at the moment and I can sense that the Darkness is strongest right now in you…I can smell it from here. If you barge in there right now, Leon is going to knock your behind down those stairs."

Cloud Strife.

Self proclaimed former First Class SOLDIER of ShinRa's SOLDIER Program back on their Home planet before it was destroyed was a different kind of, knight in shining armor. Mako, it did things to a person's body and mind that could not simply be fixed by a few years at best of therapy to help piece back together a shattered mind. A mind poisoned by Mako was not a mind that quickly snapped back to a stable mind without intervention. Several events had occurred prior to their Planet's destruction, a struggle to stop its destruction by the once proud General Sephiroth, but upon the Planets salvation. It was thought that Cloud's shattered mind would become whole upon its own recollection, or so that had been the hope. But when their Planet became consumed by Darkness; what became of Cloud due to the over take of Darkness upon their Planet was nothing compared to the strain of cases of the Jenova cell infection. Jenova cells that had been implanted into individuals at begun to eat at him held nothing to what became of his mind. When the Group had sanctuary in this World, Cloud had become a changed man; he wasn't human at first when they had found him. His eyes had grown to a deadly shade of green and his body had been hunched over as if it had taken on an animalistic sight. The very sight had all but scared the companions. Thankfully, from a place not too far from Cloud had awakened, a saving grace of sorts had called the man's attention towards it. It had been Aerith's soft voice which had called the beast's attention to her, which then helped to suppress even then to allow the man to become a normal human being once more.

Even as she watched for Cloud to make a move, either in the direction of disobeying her orders or to obey them and move away; an inkling and no doubt, a shadow of a doubt that Cloud had something to do with Leon's condition. She had a sinking feeling that it had been Cloud who had been following Leon the past two to three weeks; it was sealed for her from the sight of the darkness seeping out of him.

"Cloud?" Aerith's voice seemed to become stern as her foot unconsciously seemed to stomp against the stair, instantly stopping Cloud in his tracks, "You make one move towards him and I swear to you, I will get Cid and you know what he is capable of when you won't listen."

Cloud seemed to cower out at the woman's words. The mere thought of such a threat, a threat of having an elongated arrowhead shaped spearhead shoved up into him was not an image he wanted to dwell on.

With a soft to gruff grunt from the blond; he sat on the stairs that Aerith had just been standing on as she ran her fingers through his blond locks, "…I know you're worried about him, but sweetie…he needs to rest. The lights can't always be running like the darkness…they balance one another out and right now, the light is unbalanced and the light needs it rest."

"When _can _I see him?" Cloud's voice was gruff as he whispered to the brunet Healer, "When can I turn the lights on again?"

"Just give it time…the power will come back on and the light will be back on once the power is back on…"Aerith softly sighed as she moved down the stairs for the small Living Room where Yuffie was doing her best to annoy Cid at his computer, "…He's been following Leon again, hasn't he, Cid?"

Cid looked up from his hands raised to punish the annoying Great Ninja Yuffie as his eyes turned soft and his hand slowly lowered to his sides, "Can't really say, Aerith…It's not my duty to keep the Security System on check with Strife. Strife is his own person, and I'm not his God damned baby sitter. Stop babying him like he's a baby chick already!"

"Be nice to Aerith, Cid! She's just worried about Leon, you know how Cloud was when we brought Leon to the Restoration Committee Main House when we first found him; he wouldn't let any of us near Leon, except Aerith…she was the only he'd let near Leon," Yuffie kicked at the floor as she turned her eyes to the dark stairway, "It was like he was smelling Leon over for some odd and out of the ordinary scent…it was creepy."

The room became filled with the sounds of another female voice as a woman with long raven hair walked in, "Where's Leon? I heard that he passed out in the Marketplace earlier…is he okay?"

Everyone shared the worried look on their face as Aerith turned to Tifa, "He's resting now with a high grade fever; he's been pushing himself again to get the Restoration work finished before anymore threats of Heartless come…" wetness seemed to hide behind her eyes as she tried to wish it away, "At best, he's resting well…"

"Damn kid…I knew something was off about him when I found him with his eyes nearly glued to the book I found him reading this afternoon…but I didn't know he was this bad," Cid grumbled to himself as he clicked away at the keyboard, "…If it helps, Aerith…"

Aerith turned her gaze to the salty Airship Captain as her curls about her face, "What is it, Cid?"

Cid grumbled to himself as he ran a hand across his face, "After he nearly decked me in the chin with his head, and started apologizing for almost doing it…he started mentioning something about something or someone was following him," he looked towards Leon's room, "as if the Darkness was boring into the back of his head and he started to get a little green around the face just talking about it. Don't know, but…he seemed a little off kilter."

"…I see, did he say anything more about who or what he thought it could be?" she started to piece together a possible idea of suspects.

"He didn't say much until he ended up just bolting for home as I figured," Cid muttered as he shrugged his shoulders and went back to his work, "Hopefully the fever will break because I'm sure this place will fall apart without him."

Tifa and Yuffie chuckled from the sofa as Aerith soulfully embraced Cid around the shoulders, "Thanks Cid…But, if you'll excuse me…I've got some reading to do to find something to help break Leon's fever."

"Good luck with that, Aerith," Cid called out from the keyboard as Tifa and Yuffie waved at Aerith as she passed on by, "Don't worry, if he tries to come down he's stark naked and he tries to go out and try and salvage those Gummi parts he lost this morning; I'll make sure to stop him before he even steps off that final stair."

Everyone within the Restoration Committee has their own unique and specific roles within the Committee; Cid was the Security Watchmen of sorts, Yuffie was the strength with her Shuriken with Tifa as her wingman Aerith was the Healer. Then there were the men with the muscle wielding swords; Leon and Cloud. Leon was the appointed Head of the Committee to oversee all that went on while working alongside with the others to fight against enemies. Cloud was…Cloud. He didn't seem to, as Yuffie had put it after getting cuffed upside the back of her head, play well with others. Especially the times when the Darkness had decided to fed on the Mako in his body. Some days were better then others. There were days that it was hard to know when Cloud was just plain, brooding, quiet Cloud and then there were days when Cloud was someone else. Someone that was hard to distinguish as human. The only who truly knew what person Cloud was on his off days was Aerith. Today seemed to be one of those days from the fact she had had to stop Cloud from walking into Leon's room. On days when Cloud was himself, he was yet another form of muscle to fight off the Heartless that teamed up in the Crystal Fissure Canyon. And the days when he wasn't himself; he would hide off in the Canyon to smash away at the Heartless, but when he did it, he wasn't human. The human side of him would melt away under the unknown creature he would become, but the only human thing about that stayed was the dark glow, a dark Mako green glow in his eyes.

Today seemed to be one of those days. Shortly after he had been reprimanded from stepping another foot closer to Leon; he had taken to venting his frustrations out on the Heartless. The Heartless in the Crystal Fissure Canyon never stood a chance. His monster side was in full swing as he growled darkly as he tore and sliced into defenseless Heartless shadows, "…Stupid Lion…Stupid Lion should've been caring for himself better…not good for people…" a Heartless screamed as Cloud's sank into its neck and disappeared, "…Make heart ache…make Wolf worry…Didn't mean to make Lion sick with worry and fear…"

"Heh…I've got to get this under control before I end up jumping Leon…in his bed…while Aerith wails on me to get off of him…"Cloud shook his head as he pulled First Tsurugi onto his back and headed back for the house, "…I am _not _in love with him…it's hard to be in love with someone who won't give the time of day to speak to you."

Aerith was curious about what Cid had said about Leon's odd behavior before he had been found passed out in the alleyway in the Marketplace; it worried her. Leon _had _been pushing himself hard lately, but, did that qualify for an answer as to why he become skittish? She had noticed there were mornings when Leon would walk downstairs and appear with a cold sweat on his face and a twitch in his steps. It was as if he was looking for a set of hidden eyes watching his every step. Whenever she approached him about it, the man would brush it off as nothing; he would simply chalk it up to a bad dream, nothing for her to worry about. But it had been nothing to worry about; Leon was a little bit shaken up by it. When she would see him sweating like that; it was setting off alarms in her head. Even if they weren't related by blood or a true family, but she held Leon close to her heart. As close as a big brother was about as best she could place him as and she was worried about him.

"…How much longer do we have to stay quiet for Leon's sake?" Yuffie grumbled as she flopped out on the sofa as Aerith sat in the easy chair, thinking over things that had been going on with Leon, "I'm bored and this quiet is about to drive me up the walls and you know how Cid hates me going off the walls."

Cid's keystrokes were starting to become louder as he turned about in his chair to face Aerith, "Aerith, I know you're worried about Leon, but you're going to have one more laid up person if you don't find something for her do!"

"…Have you guys noticed any odd behavior or changes in Cloud lately?" Aerith spoke up as she placed her book down and began to pace the floor slowly, fingers curling around her chin, "Leon didn't start behaving like this until recently when Cloud started changing into the other person he becomes when the Darkness takes a hold of him…"

"Are you saying Cloud's little dark side of himself is the reason Leon's sick?" Yuffie quirked her gaze upwards as she watched Aerith pacing still; "Are you, Aerith?"

Maybe it was Cloud's unconscious Darkness that had driven Leon to a nervous wreck, but, there were times Cloud would drive the man nuts. But, not as bad as this, not bad enough to send the man into a sickened dizzy spell. Could she tag all of the happenings against Leon all on Cloud, or maybe she could? Lately, she had seen Cloud wandering about town with a slight stare in his eye and whenever she caught his eye, she could feel something in his gaze. Cloud's gaze when he would pass them would stay locked longer on Leon then it did on her. His gaze simply lasted shortly on her, but his gaze on Leon was locked on him like a guided missile. Moments after Cloud would leave them after his elongated stare towards Leon; Leon would always be left unnerved at the fact that Cloud had it for him.

She simply had chalked the notion that Cloud was out to get Leon as nonsense, but it didn't stop there. Weeks would pass when she wouldn't see Leon until she started seeing him walking down the stairs at the house in a cold sweat and then the fidgeting started. Something was seriously out of place with what was going on. And all the evidence was pointing directly at Cloud. What was it about Cloud _stalking _Leon that had made Leon such a nervous wreck to wear down his immune system? It was all too canny, even back when they had found Leon in the Canyon; Cloud had then been possessive of Leon. When she had attempted to approach Leon even then, Cloud had met her with a growl; his words were of the possessive manner. Saying that Leon was his, no one was to touch the Light; light will go out if moved, even now. It had frightened her at first, but she managed to coax Cloud to carry Leon back to the Main House and let her look the man over all the while Cloud had held onto the man. She had watched even then as well as now, how Cloud's eyes had lit up at the sensation of Leon in his arms; it was as if, Leon was his own personal security blanket in a way.

"I'm not sure Yuffie, but…I'm worried that Cloud has his eyes set on Leon for…his own uses, but I don't know yet…I'm worried for Leon's well being. He's such a soft hearted man that…I worry about Cloud destroying that…" Aerith sighed to herself sadly as she heard Cloud walk in.

"…Speak of the devil and the devil walks in," Yuffie muttered under her breath as she moved to the other sofa as Cloud flopped out on the one Yuffie had been sprawled out on, "Why do you reek of a sweaty fight against a bunch of Heartless?"

Cloud grunted to himself as he played with the sofa pillows, "Why do you have to steal my Materia when I'm not looking when I really am?"

Yuffie backed down as she stomped out of the room and to her own room, "Cloud, why do you have to be so rude to her?" Aerith pointed it out as she quietly shook her head to Tifa who had been brandishing a kitchen knife, "And she has a point…you do kind of give off an aroma."

"Heh, fine…I'll go take a shower then…"Cloud grumbled as he wandered off to the upstairs bathroom, "The things I do to help keep them safe and they grumble about my hygiene."

Cid saw that Aerith was giving Cloud a wide berth but yet a closer glance as he watched her preparing to head to the stairway to watch his steps; Cid took the initiative as he headed up after Cloud, "Keep on moving, Spiky, you know what Aerith said about letting Leon rest. Either you march your stinky ass into that bathroom or I'm going to have to strip you down right here in this hall and drag your scrawny little ass into the bathroom myself."

"I wasn't going anywhere near his room…"Cloud growled faintly as he moved for the bathroom, "Why do you all think I'm going for his room anyways?"

"Aerith has a thought that you are the one to blame for why Leon is half scared out of his mind with worry into a sick tizzy; the poor guy hardly gets any real rest because you've been stalking him. I'm surprised he didn't realize it sooner and skewer your ass to the wall," Cid grumbled as he started to move in on Cloud, "Now, move it or else I'm going to have to get physical."

A dark smirk crossed his face as he moved into Cid's space and face, "You would like to do that, wouldn't you? Vincent isn't here…he's probably off sleeping in Halloween Town till Halloween when he can freely come back until he has to go back and help Jack again and I know…"Cloud's fingers started to toy with the old Captain's top; his hands running against his fabric caressed chest, "…You're probably all wound up with tension…of the sexual kind and you're just itching to plow into someone since little old Vinny isn't here to release it…"

"You sick little…"Cid's fist met Cloud's face with a crunch that had even Aerith's attention drawn to the stairway.

"CID!" Aerith heard a crunch and a flurry of sounds as Aerith ran for the stairway and she got halfway up when she found Cid swearing up a storm against Cloud who was huddled down into a crumpled ball on the floor in the hallway, "What the heck happened just now?!"

Cid had to self restrain himself as he waited to wail his foot into Cloud's stomach again to keep him on the floor, but the man couldn't bring himself to tell Aerith what had just passed. He grumbled something almost incoherent as he moved down the stairs, cigarette hanging from his lips as he stormed out of the house to have a smoke; Cloud all the while, was still lying on the floor. In a heap and, was he laughing? If it was laughter, it was dark in tone.

Cloud managed to pick himself up shortly after, "Damn old man…you really _are _wound up tight…"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't any of the Square Enix/Tetsuya or any or all possibly used or to possibly to be used Disney characters.

Warnings: Cloud does something bad in the shower, if you don't know what I mean, use your imagination, children.

AN: Originally "Bumps in the Night" and slowly but surely editing the original chapters that had been posted under the original title and slowly working up future chapters with a hopefully better idea of what I want to go for without this reading like some newbie wrote it.

Chapter 2

If there was one thing Cid did not tolerate, aside from his afternoon tea time being ruined was a smart mouth asshole talking smack or talking directly to his face about the man of his life. Cid took great pride when it came to the man in his life, Vincent Valentine. Speaking ill of Vincent Valentine, Ex-Turk and expert Gunmen was a dishonor worse then there being no tea left in Cid's tea kettle when he woke up in the morning. Vincent was the only other thing that made Cid's heart feel whole. The others had learned their place about mouthing off about Vincent, but it seemed, at the moment, Cloud had forgotten. He crossed that 'Life or Death' line by thinking that he could "help" the old Captain release some of the tension by at the same point, mouthing off about Vincent.

"Get up, Strife, get up and face me so I can punch your lights out proper you little shit!" Cid reared his fist back to punch the blonde's lights out, but Aerith's hands around it stopped him, "Aerith?"

Her face said it all; she was on the edge of throwing someone's hide down those stairs and reprimanding the other harshly, "Let it go. Just let it go."

"…Alright, but Strife," Cid glared at the chuckling darkly man as he let his hand slowly come to rest at his side, "We're going to finish this later…I'm only stopping on Aerith's behalf. I don't want to have the lady watch me knock that smirk off your prick like face."

"Just go, Cid…I'll deal with him…" she softly patted his shoulder as she watched him leave before she turned her calmed fury on Cloud, "What was that all about? Why were you egging him on like that? What have I told you about that mouth of yours?"

Cloud seemed to realign himself as he rolled his eyes, _why, why, why, is that all you have to ask me over and over, Aerith, come on, stop with the preaching; _"I'm sorry, Aerith…I'm just not myself today, when I'm not myself I guess I pop off at the mouth more then usual."

For a mere moment, Aerith was willing to believe the white lies she knew was coming out through the man's teeth, "You aren't cut up too badly, but…I still think you need to go take that shower, and most of all, leave Leon alone; if he's not awake from all this noise now, I'm sure he is now."

"…Leon…"the way it sounded coming off Cloud's lips sounded like a purring sound as she watched his fingers pet the door which disturbed her slightly, "Can I see him later?"

"I don't know, Cloud. After what you said to Cid and the fight…I'm going to have think about it, because I don't know if I can trust you alone with Leon while he's sick," she stared at him as she watched the man become crestfallen as his fingers curled into a fist as it fell to his side, "Cloud…Cloud…Cloud, answer me."

His eyes slowly turned towards her, "I want to talk to the real Cloud, Wolfgang. Let me speak to the real Cloud, no tricks."

"…Can I see him later if I promise to sit at his side with you nearby?" Cloud seemed to come forward as his eyes looked up at Aerith with sincerity, "Please?"

"…I'll think about it, but for now, I've got to get down to the Kitchen and help with Dinner and you need a shower," Aerith's face seemed to give him reluctant hope as she turned on her heels, but she stopped at the top stair before heading downstairs, "Remember what I said, Cloud, leave Leon's room alone and get a shower before you come down for dinner."

Cloud faintly nodded his head as his eyes took one last reluctant glance to Leon's bedroom door; on the other side was a man that had long ago stolen his heart. As well, put the dark side of him self, Wolfgang, as it had been so named, onto a leash and keep him at bay when he reared his ugly head. Wolfgang only seemed to come forth when the Darkness took to mating with the Mako in his blood and turning him into the bastard that was the side of Cloud no one saw or had ever seen.

"…Whatever has you laid up in there, Leon, you kick its ass…or I'm going to be kicking yours…"Cloud grumbled to himself as he wandered off to the bathroom to take his needed his shower, "Or else one particular is going to be looking at a good back swat."

Aerith's suspicions were slowly being answered as to why Leon had become ill, but, suspicions could be answered by facts, there was no evidence there that Cloud or the Darkness within Cloud was the cause. It didn't seem possible, but she knew that the Darkness side of Cloud had for some reason taken a deep interest in Leon lately. It had been muttering about Stupid Lion keeps running from him whenever he speaks to Leon. Stupid Lion telling Leon that Cloud was a bad man that shouldn't be trusted which to Cloud's Darkness like beast was an insult. Cloud could be as gentle as he wished when he wanted to be, but then there were times when Cloud would be out right rude and obnoxious. Aerith busied herself with making Dinner for her crazy, makeshift family to push aside the thoughts and suspicions she had about Cloud.

"…Dinner time everyone," Aerith softly called out as she carried the pot over to the table, "Come on, Cid, the Security System will still be running and keeping an eye things for now. You need to eat as well and I don't want you leaving dishes at the Computer…Tron does not want or need his hard drive fried if you spill anything on the keyboard."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, Aerith…"Cid pushed away from the Computer as he set the Security System to run while he wasn't monitoring, "Where's Spiky?"

Yuffie was half way through her bowl of stew meat while Tifa was just starting to take a bite of her dinner when their eyes locked onto Aerith with worry, "You don't think he would…" Yuffie mumbled through a mouth full of food as her eyes moved to the stairway.

Tifa was halfway out of her chair as she heard the sound of feet padding down the stairs; there was silence until the sound a hacking cough and moaning of a sick man coming down the stairs, "Was anyone going to tell me dinner was ready or was I going to be left to rot upstairs?" Leon seemed to grumble in his sick state as he leaned against the stairway wall, "Well?"

"I was going to bring you some dinner in a minute, Leon, I just had to feed the troops down here," Aerith let her soft smile caress her features as she went to grab Leon's bowl of food, "Come on you, back up stairs with you, I didn't say you could get out of bed just yet."

"Yeah, yeah…"Leon grumbled sickly as he started back up the stairs slowly as Aerith followed after him, "It's kind of hard to sleep when World War 3 is going on outside your bedroom door."

Cid slightly winced to himself as he felt Yuffie kick him under the table as he brandished a fork at her, "Do it again, brat, I dare you…"

Yuffie kicked him again, "You and your He-Man pride that got into that struggle with Cloud earlier is the reason why Leon is awake and not sleeping."

"Well excuse me if my pride for the love of my life was in jeopardy," Cid growled back at her as Tifa kicked him harder in the other thigh, "Ow! Damn it, Tifa! What the Hell?!"

Tifa's gaze directed back to Aerith who was still hanging around the bottom of the stairs, all the while, keeping a watchful gaze on Leon, "Just can it, will you? Both of you."

Leon stopped at the top as he leaned against the wall of the stairway, "Why does the floor feel like its moving, Aerith? Did you guys turn the house into a Fun House while I was asleep?"

"Come on, time to get you back in bed…"Aerith ushered him onwards to his room as she set the bowl of soup on the side table, proceeding then to take the man's temperature, "You're running a fever…this isn't good, but you need to at least try and eat something and get some fluids back into your system."

"Make it stop…"Leon grumbled as he attempted to pull the sheets over his head which Aerith pulled away from his face, "Make it all stop…Aerith…I can't be laid up in here…I'm the Head of the Restoration Committee…this is embarrassing."

Her head softly shook side to side, "You aren't a super human and even Heads of Committees get sick; I'll be back with a wet washcloth for your forehead and a glass of water…Just try and sleep."

Leon grumbled as his eyes softly closed as the sound of air passing through his clogged nostrils seemed to whistle in his sleep. Aerith's fingers brushed against his bangs, beads of sweat were beading on his forehead which was merely a side effect of the fever. It broke her heart that she couldn't do anything more then just nurse him to the best of her abilities. She quietly took her time leaving the bedroom as she headed downstairs where dinner had all but been eaten, save for some portions leftover for Aerith and Cloud, once he finally came down from his shower. The dishes had been placed into the sink, washed, dried, and put away for the night as well as the Kitchen had been cleaned up. The others may at times appear as if the idea of responsibilities wasn't for them and the only enjoyment was making everyone else's lives a living Hell, but, underneath all of that was caring friends.

"…Guys," Aerith chuckled to herself before sitting down to eat.

Cloud had taken his time to get into the shower; he was a creature of habit that took his own time to undress before stepping into the shower to wash off the days happenings. It had become a sense of habit as far back as his time in SOLDIER. As a SOLDIER Grunt he had been self conscious about his body, especially about what was down in his nether regions. He would wait then and during his time with AVALANCHE to take his shower. Unfortunate enough, it didn't help that back then a rumor had been started that supposedly; he was "lacking in size" compared to the others of his unit. When Training would be over for the day; he would wait till the others had left the Locker Room before he would shower for the day. The memories of those days made Cloud chuckle even now, even as he found himself looking down to find he was completely nude. Something else had also happened during that trip back down Memory Lane; his thoughts had left from those past memories to unconscious thoughts of Leon; he had grown in another sense.

"…You have bad timing you know that?" Cloud was speaking to no one in particular as he stared downwards at the "friend" he made the remark towards; he watched it seem to twitch slightly out of embarrassment, "…Well, you know the drill, but we've got to be quiet. The Lion is sleeping and it wouldn't be good to wake him up or else Aerith is going to come in here and beat us good."

Moments go, what had felt like warm water had turned cold as the man walked in under the stream. The shock of the frigid cold water sent a shiver down his body as well as the "friend" as Cloud became accustomed to the cold. There was no turning back now as his hand rigidly grasped the problem between thighs and gave it a test squeeze. The faint squeeze caused his breath to hitch in his throat until the grasped hand started to thrust up and down. Gasps hitched more and more in his throat as moans turned to purrs as his head lolled back as the cold water ran down his golden spikes and flattened them against his head. His forehead started to come forward as it rested against the tiled wall of the shower as the actions began to speed up and his hips started to buck unconsciously with the thrusts. Gaia he needed to be released, but he couldn't feel that tightening sensation in his lower part of his stomach knotting up, foretelling what he knew was suppose to becoming. Why wouldn't his body register he needed to explode? It wasn't that hard; just do it already, but even with the cold water rushing down on his body it wasn't enough to release him self.

"…You are one stubborn little bastard…aren't you?" he squeezed hard down on it as he heard his own moaning laughter of dark chuckles come from his worn out lips, "What do you want me to do? Tell me what you want…Oh…you want the pretty Lion don't you…"

A simple squeeze on and thrust started to make it answer for him, "Yeah…I know you want the pretty Lion…I want him too, but Aerith says to leave the pretty Lion alone…he's not feeling well right now and its not right to take advantage of the pretty Lion right now…" he continued at the actions as the speed increased and the knotting was beginning to form in his stomach, "Aaah…yeah…yeah…Come on…bring me on home…if you do that for me…we can go and check in on the pretty Lio---AAAH!"

It didn't take much more then the promise of getting to see the man laid up, ill in bed to cause the man to explode against the tiled wall, "…Yeah…yeah…that's what I needed…" Cloud slowly slid to the floor of the shower where he laid exhausted, momentarily, but once his body had regained its composure; he turned the water back to warm, "Heh…I better hurry up with this so I can get some of dinner before its all gone."


End file.
